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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What is Carl wearing in Chapter 6?
2. At the Rum Boogie Cafe, John is certain he will have sex with a woman despite what?
3. Why does Taft stop working on the deck early in Chapter 5?
4. When did John leave Marion?
5. What is Levon Taft's day job?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does John reason about the Taft house in the beginning of Chapter 4?
2. In what state is Carl when John and Fay find him in Chapter 3?
3. Describe the interchange between John and Fay in Chapter 5.
4. Who does Fay introduce John to Chapter 2?
5. What does John learn about Marion at dinner in Chapter 5?
6. What interchange do Fay and John have before parting in Chapter 4?
7. How does John feel about Fay's neighborhood in Chapter 3?
8. What does Taft worry about regarding his children in Chapter 5?
9. What do Marion and John discuss at the end of Chapter 5?
10. What role does Carl play at Muddy's as time does on?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
One of the central plotlines of the novel is the relationship between John Nickel and John Taft. This relationship is odd in that it does not abandon itself to the sexual tension around it. Write a three-part essay, analyzing this relationship:
Part 1) What is John Nickel's initial impression of Fay Taft, and why does he decide to bring her on to staff at Muddy's? Discuss how the relationship between Fay and John develops in the first weeks. How does it shift on the night that Carl overdoses?
Part 2) Discuss how John and Fay's impromptu trip to Shiloh helps develop the relationship between them. Why do they go? What is each character looking for from the other in these passages? What act of tenderness occurs at the end of the night?
Part 3) How does the relationship between John and Fay become a romantic relationship? What events help catalyze this shift? What kind of reaction does this receive from those around them, and how does the romantic entanglement effectively end?
Essay Topic 2
Discuss the narrative structure of "Taft" in an essay. What two narratives comprise the story of the novel? How does Patchett interweave the two plotlines? To what extent does the reader already know the outcome of one of these plots? Discuss the ways the author is able to comment on over narrative with the other? What thematic elements does each share?
Essay Topic 3
The narratives of "Taft" take place in two towns: Memphis and Coalfield. In an essay, compare the way that these two towns are portrayed in the novel. What abstract ideas and movements are represented by the towns? How does Patchett forge a tone in the novel for each of these settings? Discuss the characters that come from each town. How are their objectives and values similar and different? Do they come into conflict?
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This section contains 1,068 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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